The night death was roaming

BaghdadFive years now have passed since January 17, 1991, though
memories of that night are still fresh in the minds of all
Iraqis. Events of that night are still vivid as if they had happened
yesterday.

Early on January 17, 1991, the United States began an unprecedented
missile and bombing campaign across Iraq. Starting with 2.000 aerial
sorties a day, total US over flights would exceed 109.000 in the
42-day assault. Most were bombing runs. More than 88.500 tons of
explosives were dropped on Iraq. This massive bombing operation was
primarily a war against civilian life.

On that night, Iraqis were numbed with fear, anguish and terror as
they saw the sky laced with anti-aircraft fire and all the surrounding
turned into an inferno.

All started so suddenly while all Iraqis were still in bed enjoying a
sound sleep, hoping that all threats of military action would not come
true.

Nothing seems able to erase or even blur the memory of that night of
January 17, 1991 which sent shiver into all Iraqis who could not sleep
a wink for nights to follow. On January 17, time seemed to have slowed
down or even stopped that many thought that night will perpetuate for
ever.

It was awful to see a city full of human being bombed that way. In
less than hours a number of buildings, hospitals, telecommunications
centres, bridges and water and power facilities were attacked and
destroyed. A whole nation laid helpless beneath an alien military that
could attack and destroy with impunity. Before the assult was over, US
planes flew more than 109.000 sorties, raining 88.000 tons of bombs,
the equivalent of seven Hiroshimas and killing indiscriminately across
the country.

In less than hours of intensive bombing, Baghdad like other Iraqi
cities no longer existed as functioning city. It was really awful.
Destruction was visible everywhere. Though the centre of the city was
not completely incinerated, as happened to Dresden and Hiroshima,
every service essential to modern city life was
severed. Communications centres (including post offices and telephone
centres) were destroyed, the sewage system, water system, electrical
generating system had all been disabled and bridges, civilian bridges
which have no military purpose, fallen into the rivers.

The 42-day assult left the nation with thousands of civilain dead,
without water, hospitals or health care, without gasoline, road and
bridge repair capacity, or parts for essentail equipment, and with a
growing food crisis. Because of the nature of American weapons, Iraq
was being crippled and left to a painful struggle for survival. The
bombing, as could be seen from the ground, was hardly surgical, but
was clearly designed to break a whole country and its population for a
long time to come.

The most accurate missiles and laser-guided bombs were used to destroy
key elements of Iraq's infrastructure - communications systems,
oil refineries, electric generators, water treatment facilities, dams,
and transportation centres - to inflict hardship on the Iraqi
people. The nature of the bombing of industrial and other priority
sites showed calculated planning.

During the early day of the war, Baghdad was more like a dead city,
without electricity, telecommunications or traffic. The city had been
hurriedly deserted. Most of its people fled their homes looking for a
shelter in the outskirts and nearby villages and provinces. Life
seemed to have come to a standstill as streets were deserted and shops
were closed down. Hospitals were empty except for few patients, mainly
dying children, whose parents though they still could find some sort
of treatment.

Baghdad, for the most part, was still standing. As one drive into the
city one cannot see destruction on the streets, but can sense that
everything has stopped, only one or two traffic lights were working,
for example. At nighttime in big cities there are always lights-in,
Baghdad nighttime during the days of war was very eerie because there
were no lights whatsoever. So although the city was still standing, it
is very clear that something is drastically wrong.

For the one who saw the rain of fire and brimstone that poured down on
Baghdad and imagines that Iraq has been, as one UN report put it,
bombed back into the Stone Age, will be surprised to see the
city standing on its feet again.

The infrastructure of Baghdad had gone; in fact, it is much worse than
that. Once the infrastructure of a city is removed the entire
structure of the community that lives in the city
disintegrates. Communications centres destroyed; water purification
systems taken out; sewage systems disabled; all means of travel
obstructed. The entire structure of the city started to fall apart. It
was almost impossible for people in Baghdad to do normal day-to-day
activities; everything moved so slowly.

If one looks superficially around, he will see that the picture has
changed because there is electricity, traffic, people, shops opened
again and telephone lines. Streets are crowded with people,
automobiles, buses and trucks. The great majority of the city
buildings including miles of stylish modern houses, offices and
apartment buildings are intact. Only here and there are brunt and
shattered spots. But this is not the real Baghdad. If one looks a
little bit deeper inside, one will see the tragedy the embargo and the
surgical, or as some call it neuro- surgical war had impacted
on the people.

The other major instrument used to wage total war against the Iraqi
people was economic sanctions. The war against Iraqi civilians started
with sanctions before a single bomb was dropped, and the sanctions
have continued long after the bombing compounded by the sanctions have
brought unimagined misery to the entire Iraqi nation. That suf- fering
continues unabated.

The sanctions were never intended as anything but a war strategy.
UN-sponsored sanctions imposed in early August made Iraq far more
vulnerable before the bombing began, reducing medical supplies,
impairing health conditions, eroding food reserves, and effectively
shutting down much of its economy.

It is true that bombs are no longer falling, but the war is far from
over. For the people of Iraq the war has just started. The war goes on
and on and on and only victime have changed. Instead of soldiers,
chil- dren are dying by the thousands every month. It is not true that
the war has stopped. The people now are dying and they will continue
to die. The orgy of violence is over, but the insidious and longterm
effects of structural violence are just now beginning. It is time to
tell people, all people that is an evil thing and there is no reason
under the sun that can justify it.